SpaceX helps Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust take off May 27, 2026 Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust revealed the extent of the success of its early backing for Elon Musk’s SpaceX on Wednesday. The buy-and-hold investor’s stake in the rocket maker now amounts to about a fifth of the £16bn fund, as revealed in its results for the year to the end of March. Overall, SMT’s net asset value [...]
Hollywood Bowl strikes share boom to defy consumer spending fears May 27, 2026 Hollywood Bowl shares have rocketed after the firm said Brits are prioritising nights out to the bowling alley over going shopping as they cut down on non-essential spending. The UK’s largest tenpin bowling operator said it has seen a “robust” performance even as consumer confidence plummets amid the Iran war, sending its share price up [...]
Pets at Home hails ‘better momentum’ despite profit slip May 27, 2026 Pets at Home has hailed “better momentum” in its bit to return to growth, as profit and revenue fell again while its turnaround remains in its early stages. The FTSE 250 pet supplies retailer and veterinary group saw profit before tax dip by 28 per cent to £86.5m, while group revenue fell by one per [...]
B&Q owner eyes warm weather boost as sales fall May 26, 2026 B&Q’s FTSE 100 owner will be hoping for a heatwave boost after it blamed poor weather for falling sales at the start of the year. Kingfisher, which also owns Screwfix and home improvement retailers in France and Poland, saw total like-for-like sales dip by 0.9 per cent to £3.3bn in the first quarter of the [...]
Is housebuilding in London impossible? May 25, 2026 After its 900-home development in Peckham was blocked, housebuilder Berkeley said it can “no longer invest” in London. Felix Armstrong asks whether development in the capital really has hit a brick wall At the Aylesham Centre in Peckham, south London, shoppers are met with graffitied walls, peeling paint and shuttered retail units. The site began [...]
Superdrug owner eyes up London float in $30bn dual listing May 23, 2026 The owner of Superdrug is eyeing up a blockbuster London float as part of a $30bn dual listing later this year. AS Watson, which owns the health and beauty retailer, plans to raise about $2bn by listing its shares in both London and Hong Kong before the end of 2026. The Superdrug owner would join [...]
Trainline boss pay hits the buffers after missing bonuses May 22, 2026 Trainline boss Jody Ford has seen his pay packet go off the rails in what will likely be his last year in the job, almost halving to £2.5m. Chief executive Jody Ford’s total pay packet fell by 44 per cent from £4.5m in the firm’s 2026 financial year, after he and executive director Peter Wood [...]
Retail sales plummet as Iran war hits consumer confidence May 22, 2026 Retail sales plummeted by 1.3 per cent in April, as Brits cut back on spending amid increasing pressure from the war in Iran. The huge fall in retail sales volumes in April was the largest since May last year and defied economists’ forecasts of a softer drop. This comes after a 0.6 per cent rise in [...]
As it happened: Stocks jump on peace hopes; Reeves hit by falling retail sales and surge in borrowing May 22, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Oil prices remain volatile and heightened as peace talks in the Middle East continue to run into stumbling blocks. Brent crude futures were up to $104 this morning following reports that Iran’s Supreme Leader was ordering for the nation’s enriched uranium reserves to remain in [...]
The Works shares soar as families look for ‘screen-free’ fun May 21, 2026 Shares in The Works soared on Thursday morning after the retailer said growing demand for “screen-free” entertainment is driving up revenue. The Aim-listed stock jumped 11 per cent on early trading, to 60p, after it reported revenue growth of more than three per cent to £260m in the year to May. The retailer saw like-for-like [...]